1. The Field of the Invention
The present application generally relates to waste treatment and gas production. More particularly, the present application relates to an organic waste treatment apparatus, and more particularly still to arranging of bio-film media within a waste treatment apparatus, a method of creating the arrangement of bio-film media, and the production of gas using the waste treatment apparatus.
2. Background and Related Art
The treatment of organic waste has been implemented for many years. Recently, however, organic waste treatment has become more popular as a mechanism for generating energy due at least in part to the volatile cost of traditional energy sources. Indeed, when the volatile cost of the traditional energy sources is combined with the added concern of the impact that such traditional energy sources may have on the environment, organic waste treatment may increasingly be looked at as a viable alternative.
Unlike traditional energy sources, organic waste treatment generates energy from a renewable energy source, namely organic waste such as animal waste or waste from processing plants dealing with organic materials. Moreover, organic waste treatment processes can be implemented relatively simply by harnessing the biogas products of organic waste that are produced naturally, thereby allowing organic waste treatment processes to use bacterial within the products to break the waste down and produce materials that are usable for energy or other purposes. The renewable and environment friendly nature of the organic waste treatment process to produce gas that may be converted to gas suggests that organic waste treatment may be a long term energy solution.
There are various methods to treat organic waste. One such method requires the degradation of the organic waste, which ultimately produces methane gas, carbon dioxide and mineralized nutrients. The degradation process relies on bacteria growth which, in turn, facilitates the degradation process. Unfortunately, bacteria growth can be a slow process, thus prolonging the time it takes to treat organic waste and create the methane gas which can subsequently be used to create energy.
Conventional media structures may be made up of various materials sometimes referred to as bio-film media. Regardless of the form such bio-film media takes, traditional treatment apparatus require all the bio-film media be positioned in a highly organized arrangement. Indeed, such organization has been desired to provide clear paths through which gas may be released. Notably, however, the highly organized arrangements of bio-film media generally require a significant amount of construction time, leading to a higher overall cost to produce an organic waste treatment apparatus. The higher upfront cost limits the economic viability of organic waste treatment by provoking energy producers and consumers to choose traditional energy sources instead of investing in the organic waste treatment infrastructure.
In theory, the upfront cost could be controlled by reducing the size of the waste treatment apparatus, which would in turn reduce the cost to construct the waste treatment apparatus and the time arranging the bio-film media. However, a smaller waste treatment apparatus reduces the amount of energy that the waste treatment apparatus is capable of producing, again making a waste treatment apparatus a potentially less commercially viable energy solution relative to other energy options.
Accordingly, what is needed is a waste treatment apparatus that can be adapted for use at any desired size, and which allows reduced upfront costs while also providing for the efficient capture of produced gas or other products. Additionally, it is also needed to stabilize a waste stream for alternative uses.